I have three double strollers. One, Peg Perego DH insisted on, a Graco we bough for the inlaws and now has somehow ended up in my basement, and a Joovy caboose. Honestly, we got the most use out of the caboose. DS2 was born in winter (it was a bad one in 2007) so a lot of our walking was done indoors, so the smaller stroller came in handy. Also DS1 is 26 months older and at that time wanted to WALK so the flexibility came in handy. If we were going somewhere really tight or crowded we'd often put DS1 in a Maclaren and DS2 either carried or in another suitable baby stroller.

The dirt packed roads and gravel though has me leaning towards a 3 wheeled stroller. Which is also good if you decide to plow through snow or sand. Of that, I have no experience.

I have a Phil & Ted's inline, and I love it. I can drive over pretty much anything. I live in the city, but some of the sidewalks are really terrible! Baby #2 isn't here yet, but I have used the second seat with another toddler, and it worked great. I really like that the second seat just pops off, so if DS decides he doesn't want to sit in the stroller I'm not stuck having to get a new one for just the baby.

I have a small house and only one kid at the moment, so that's why I went for the inline. I know they say the side-by-sides can fit through a regular door, but I can see that being a huge hassle for me, trying to pull a huge stroller up the stairs only to find that I can't open the door all the way because there's a dump truck or ride-on behind it. As it is, I really appreciate the smaller stroller and being able to fit through a door I can only open half way.

Go here, and use the search features to figure out what you really want. They have many different price points, and reviews of models...

Saying all that, for walks, I like a side-by-side. I've got the Tyke tech 360. I also use it at the library.

I prefer to baby wear when shopping, but I hated shopping with the stroller. Although it fits through doors, and is "wheelchair width", so one would assume it could go almost anywhere, it is too wide for most store displays.

If shopping is important to you, I'd consider a single width stroller.

We have a Graco in-line and a InStep side by side double jogging stroller. We have not used the Graco in more than a year. Both dh and I love the swivel wheel jogging stroller. You can't beat it's smooth steering. It's rolls effortlessly over any surface. I love it!

We are not big shoppers. We have taken it to the mall a couple of times. It will fit through all the doors but you can't go through narrow clothing racks. This is not an issue for us but may be something for you to consider if shopping is your thing.

I second the Joovy Caboose. It is really easy to steer. Don't get the Baby Trend Sit N' Stand for sure. That thing is a bear.

I like the Joovy Caboose for several reasons. It is compact and fits in our tiny car. It is narrow and is easy to steer, so good for many uses (including the farmers market which gets really crowded). The older child can sit, stand, or walk. It's not much bigger than a single stroller, so we got rid of our single and will use it with 1 kid or 2. It's lightweight. It's really worked for us.

The only issue I've had with it is when my kids are cranky (they are now 2 and 4.5) and start bonking each other's head or whatever. But, if they were in a side-by-side, I think they'd tug each other's hair or hit each other or whatever when they're in that mood anyway. The other thing is, the kid in the back doesn't really have the option of falling asleep. This hasn't really been an issue, but there were a couple of times my daughter complained about it.

Mostly, my kids walk now, but I still bring it along for long walks in case one or both of them get tired, and pushing it around when it's empty doesn't really bother me since it is so easy to steer. And, I can put my goods from the farmers market in the basket.

Phil and Teds, definitely. It sounds ideal for your situation, I just got mine but I wish I had taken the plunge years ago! It's the size of a single jogger, and it's so easy to push even with 60 pounds in it. I can easily steer it around with one hand even on bumpy terrain. I love it because my 3yo is getting to the point where he doesn't always want to ride in the stroller and is reliable enough to walk with me but sometimes he does want to get in, and for long walks and boring trips my older kids want a turn in the stroller too, but sometimes it's just the baby and when I had a different double I was always wondering why I even bothered with bringing the double because only one child (or no child) was in it and I has this big stroller anyway.

I have a big beautiful Bertini double but it is a beast, I am always worried it won't make it through a doorway (it always has, except interior doors in my house) and no way would I take it shopping. I assumed it was considerably larger than most side by sides, but it's really not any wider than my friends double jogger. I had a side by side maclaren that was okay for the mall and walks around the neighborhood but even it was too wide to fit in many store aisles and of course the wheels weren't up to much that wasn't paved.

If I could go back in time to 2006/7 when we got our first stroller I'd ask for a phil'n teds. I've almost never used the jogging stroller we do have, and while I like my baby planet stroller, I keep wishing I had a secondary seat so that both boys could ride, at least some of the time. Part of me keeps debating about selling both strollers I have now and buying a phil'n teds, but I just can't quite justify. If I *ever* saw one used for a half-way decent price though I'd buy it in a heart beat.

I have the Rumbleseat attachment on our Uppababy Vista...works very well for us! I love that I can switch it to a single if need be (if I'm wearing LO, for instance). So versatile. Mine is an older model, but it was a very simple process to do the retrofit. They sent us a shipping box. My two are close in age as well, 17 months apart. They're now 5.5 months and 22 months. The older one loves her special little seat.

bob for most things and a combi for the shops (bob's kinda big)
Phil and Teds, I found splashed my DD when it's wet and she could reach the guard rail/cover thing, didn't like it, but that's just me and not trying to diss it!!!

Bob pushes like a cloud, even up the hill, where there are lots of bumps, and on gravel, you don't notice it, but it feels too big for dept stores (not that I go much now!!) The combi is no narrower, just less footprint.

::::Welsh Mummy to My long awaited beautiful boy and girl. Proud Wife of my best friend.

It's been over 4 years (over 2 with 2 kids) and we really really love our Phil n Teds. When the road is wet/mucky the kid in back may get dirty. We got ours before they started having the covers on the back wheels, so our kids get splattered a bit and I suppose they could stick their fingers in there if they wanted to hurt them, but they haven't (I really shouldn't say that and tempt fate, should I?).

It's a little long in stores, but it gets around fine and is really not much bigger than a single. So it's very okay for shopping (not perfect, but what stroller is?). For us, I rarely use it in stores and when using a stroller I just have a cheap umbrella stroller in the trunk that one kid can ride in and the other can be carried (if baby) or walk (if responsible and older) or hitch a ride on the back (standing on the rear bar and holding the handle while I push).

Thanks so much for all the great responses and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. Our internet connection has been excrutiatingly slow lately.

Anyway, I'm hoping some of you check this thread again because I have a question about the Phil & Teds and the Vista Rumble Seat (and any other in-line that isn't "stadium" (rear seat is higher than the front seat) and where the seats can't be turned around into different configurations) - isn't the rear child left just staring at the back of the front seat, which looks to be uncomfortably close?

I'll go look at their websites again to see if I can see better photos or videos because I really can't picture it. They just look so claustrophobic for the child in the back.

Thanks so much for all the great responses and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back here. Our internet connection has been excrutiatingly slow lately.

Anyway, I'm hoping some of you check this thread again because I have a question about the Phil & Teds and the Vista Rumble Seat (and any other in-line that isn't "stadium" (rear seat is higher than the front seat) and where the seats can't be turned around into different configurations) - isn't the rear child left just staring at the back of the front seat, which looks to be uncomfortably close?

I'll go look at their websites again to see if I can see better photos or videos because I really can't picture it. They just look so claustrophobic for the child in the back.

Thanks for any more feedback you can provide!

I had a Phil & Ted for my twins, and it was definitely our favorite stroller by far of all that we've owned (I finally had to sell it when they turned 3 because they were getting too big for the rear seat.) Honestly, my kids never had a problem with sitting in the back, in fact they often argued over who got to sit there because they both thought it was more fun than the front seat. Whenever we went to places like the Zoo or the Aquarium I would just turn the stroller sideways so they could both get a good look, and nobody ever complained about it.

We ended up replacing the P&T with a Mountain Buggy, which is also great but it's definitely much bigger. It's great for hauling around a lot of stuff and it still pushes well even with bigger kids as passengers. I also recommend it, but I admit if the P&T people managed to find a way to up the weight limit on the rear seat I would have kept it instead of "upgrading" to the MB.

Phil & Teds: The smaller child is supposed to go in the back anyway. What I like about this stroller is that the infant seat lays flat underneath the upper seat, so no buckling & people cannot touch your baby. You can also hang toys overhead, even w/ the jump seat attached. I think since it is the baby who rides in the lower seat, they get used to it or don't really care for a while. I have heard from other people that sometimes the older one wants to ride in the bottom, too, so I don't think it ends up being as big a deal as we adults think it will be. Regular in-line strollers are pretty close together, too.

In the end, yeah, it is close, but it makes for a low center of gravity & the liking it or not will also have to do w/ the child's personality.

With the Uppababy, the kids are facing each other. My older daughter usually ends up tickling the baby's feet and pullng her socks off! My only real complaint is that the Rumbleseat has very little recline, which makes it a bit tough if my daughter nods off for a nap. If it could lean back just a few degrees more, it would be perfect. Let me know if you need a photo of anything in particular and I will post it...I know it can be hard to visualize things sometimes, and I have never seen one in person besides our's!

With the Uppababy, the kids are facing each other. My older daughter usually ends up tickling the baby's feet and pullng her socks off! My only real complaint is that the Rumbleseat has very little recline, which makes it a bit tough if my daughter nods off for a nap. If it could lean back just a few degrees more, it would be perfect. Let me know if you need a photo of anything in particular and I will post it...I know it can be hard to visualize things sometimes, and I have never seen one in person besides our's!

That's weird. I thought they both faced the parent, like this. IT's good to know that you could face the main seat away from you if you wanted. I kind of wish DS was younger so I could justify getting it.

We bought this stroller for $5 at a garage sale. We just tried it out yesterday and it's way better than I thought it would be. You can even strap the car seat in.

We had a Joovy Caboose which we didn't use for the first year cuz dd HATED strollers, she would only be worn. Then we used it for a good long time, in fact we are just stopping now because she's 2.5 and my ds is 5 and her feet almost touch the ground in front. It is kind of awkward when the kids get heavier...

So I bought a Mountain Buggy Terrain (the older model of the Urban) from Craigslist and I LOVE it. It's a side by side but it's narrow, fits through standard doorways even that of my 60 year old house (I wheel dd right into the house if she falls asleep in it). It has big air filled tires and is good on any surface, it's easy to handle. I bought it more because I babysit another 2 year old so it's for him and my dd but my 5 yr old can fit in it no problem. It can hold kids up to 55lbs.

Amanda - wife to DH Kelly, Mummers to Trent born 03/03/05 Bridget born 08/08/07 and a IT'S A BOY! Kennedy born 02/20/11!

That's weird. I thought they both faced the parent, like this. IT's good to know that you could face the main seat away from you if you wanted. I kind of wish DS was younger so I could justify getting it.

You're right, actually. Uppababy suggests having the kids face each other when the youngest is less than 6 months (due to the angle of the seat, I assume). After that, they both face mom. I'd forgotten that we'll have to turn the seat around at some point! Duh! It makes sense though...the one in the higher seat would be kicking the other kid in the face at some point if they're facing each other.